To further reinforce the ideas behind Floating Color,the strongest directional trend mentioned in my previous post, I am including here additional inspirations I discovered in my research. Most of all, I am inspired by the story behind the image of a favela pictured at bottom center.

Favelas are urban Brazilian shanty towns. They are populated by former rural citizens who migrated to urban centers for work, but found that they were not able to afford to live in better conditions. About 6% of Brazilian citizens live in these villages.

In 2010, Dutch artists Haas and Hahn began a project called “Favela Painting“. The goal of the project is to revitalize these shanty towns through the power of color; inspiring the citizens and bringing joy to these communities. The project also provides work and wages to the residents of these Favelas.

From the project’s Facebook page:

‘Favela painting’ affects the aesthetic order of how favelas are perceived from within and outside its natural embryonic growth. Colour brings hope. It brings a different understanding of space and its people, inviting others to co-create and co-represent much more constructively and positively life here. It appeals to our senses in a way that we do not reject but embrace these places and the potential for better life. It articulates a different discourse of social change; of engagement, contributing to improve life for favela dwellers.

This powerful description shows how meaningful the use of color can be in re-imagining our world.